


Swan

by xavier



Category: Swan Princess (1994), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Charles is a Tease, Erik Being Cocky, Erik has Issues, Erik is not a Happy Bunny, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-03-12 19:39:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3352916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xavier/pseuds/xavier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loosely based on the 1994 film The Swan Princess and the ballet Swan Lake. As children, Prince Erik and Prince Charles are forced to spend their summers together by their widowed parents, who hope that the two will eventually fall in love and marry, so that the kingdoms of the two will be united. As children and adolescents, Charles and Erik can't stand each other but when the evil King Sebastian Shaw turns Charles into a swan in a bid to convince the prince to marry him, Erik must find a way to get Charles back but - how can he when the only way he can is to make a vow of ever lasting love?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, there was an alpha queen named Sharon Xavier who ruled a large and mighty kingdom and, yet, she was sad for she was growing old and had no child to inherit the throne. Then, happily, a son was born, an omega prince, and he was given the name _Charles_. Despite Sharon’s omega-husband, Brian, dying shortly after the young prince’s birth, Kings and Queens came from all around to offer the omega baby gifts. Among them were the Alpha King Jakob Lehnsherr and, his young son, Alpha Prince Erik. It was then that Sharon and Jakob happened upon the same idea – Erik and Charles would be brought together each summer in hopes that they would fall in **love** and join their kingdoms forever…

… but, unknown to all, there was another plan that of the evil alpha king, Sebastian Shaw. Charles’ birth was very little concern to Shaw for he was preparing to take Sharon’s kingdom through means of the dark arts. Years passed and Sharon found herself remarrying an alpha, Kurt Marko, under a dark spell to make her fall in love stolen from Shaw’s magic books. However, it soon became apparent that the young omega prince had the ability to read minds, a rare and exceptional gift. He told his mother of the enchanter’s real desires and how he and his son, Cain, had tricked them all along. Despite calls for his death, the younger alpha – only fourteen – was banished while his father was executed. Sebastian Shaw’s book was found and he was also exiled, Sharon unaware of his true powers.

_I’m not finished with you yet, Sharon. Someday, I’ll get my kingdom back and, when I do, everything you own and everything you love will be **mine**. _

 Many feared that their queen was far too kind.

However, over time, all was forgotten and all hopes turned to the not so distant summer in which Charles and Erik would meet.


	2. This Is My Idea

The sound of trumpets and fanfare coated the Lehnsherr’s kingdom in anticipation as the people of the land watched the horizon, searching for a sign of Queen Sharon and her son to arrive. It had been little over ten years since Prince Charles had been born and Prince Erik was approaching his thirteenth birthday and everyone, in both the land of the Lehnsherr’s and the Xavier’s, could safely say that it had been a long wait.

A loud cheer erupted through the kingdom at the sight of the Xavier’s first horse that was making its way from the harbour to the castle. It had been quite the journey for the Queen and even more so for the little boy that was positioned in front of her, hanging on to the reins of her horse.

“Mother, it’s so noisy,” Charles said quietly, not bothering to try and fight the sounds of the crowd which earned a scowl from Sharon, luckily, he couldn’t see it. However, Charles wasn’t exactly talking about the sounds of the crowds and the trumpets. He was talking about the other voices that were echoing through his head.

“If you mumble, Charles, then I won’t be able to hear you, will I?” Sharon snapped. It had been quite the change from the benevolent queen that ruled a mere ten years ago and now. Grief had twisted her into alcoholic wreck who was hardly a mother at all. Charles had spent most of his life, so far, being raised by a long list of wet-nurses and nannies. Despite having all the riches that he could ask for, Charles didn’t have a clue what it felt like to be loved.

Charles opened his mouth to repeat himself when he was interrupted by the eruption of trumpets and large iron gates swinging open to reveal King Jakob, his son – Prince Erik and the beta brother Erik was named after, Erich. “My dear, Queen Sharon,” Jakob grinned as their horse approached them, halting a few feet in front “lovely as ever – it has been a long ten years, has it not?”

Sharon smiled in response, pulling herself from her horse before taking Charles onto the ground also who, automatically, hid himself behind his mother. “And who might this little omega be?” Jakob continued, bending himself to gain a better look at the little boy his son was betrothed to, “young Prince Charles, no doubt.” He took a small step back, glancing to Erik who was stood, kicking the dirt from beneath his feet, utterly uninterested by what was happening. “Welcome to our kingdom.”

“And thank you for having us, King Jakob,” Sharon said, slightly preoccupied with trying to shake Charles from her robes and when, finally Charles had stumbled to one side with a loud sigh, Sharon addressed the young alpha “Prince Erich and you, young Prince Erik.”

An awkward pause strained between the two rulers as they glanced back to their children, waiting for them to do as they were told. Both Erik and Charles had both been trained in etiquette and they knew how to act when in the presence of another royal and, yet, both seemed to be holding. A few distressed and harsh whispers were hidden by the trumpet that was still playing in the distance and, finally, Charles and Erik took a few tentative steps towards each other.

“Hello, Your Royal Highness,” Erik spoke first, bowing slightly, his voice monotone and completely and utterly bored. “I am very pleased to meet you.”

“Please, call me Charles,” Charles said, slow and his eyes upwards as if he was trying to rack his brains for what he had been told to say, he glanced back over his shoulder to his mother for prompting who mouthed the words ‘you too.’ “And it’s a pleasure to meet you also, Your Royal Highness.”

“Thank you, Prince Charles, you may call me Erik,” Erik was beginning to back away now, his voice fringing on the edge of sarcasm.

“Erik—“ Erich prompted, tilting his head towards the prince. “We rehearsed this.”

The young alpha looked as if he was about to be sick as he snatched Charles’ hand, skimmed the back of it with his lips before turning quite promptly to head back to the castle, leaving tears prickling in Charles’ eyes. He turned back to his mother. “Did I do something wrong, Your Majesty?”

“Go after him, Charles,” was all his mother said and Charles obliged scurrying after his new acquaintance.

Jakob and Sharon shared a slightly disappointed sigh as they also both turned and began to head back to the castle also. Erich shook his head, following after them both. “They’re only young, my brother. You know how children can be like. Once Erik realises omegas don’t have germs and Charles realises that alphas can be quite stubborn creatures, they’ll get on like a house on fire.

“We can only hope, Erich.”

♕♛♔♚

Two weeks of the summer had passed and Erik and Charles were becoming better acquainted, although, it was very evident that the only real reason for that was because they were forced into each other’s company constantly. However, Sharon and Jakob both seemed oblivious to the disliking that the young royals had for each other, wrapped into their own world of politics.

Erik and Charles tumbled down red velvet stares, almost screaming at each other as they did. For an omega boy who was slightly younger than Erik, the alpha found he had to put up quite the fight against him. Yells of “get off me!” and “that hurt!” and “you punch like a girl!” filled the castle as they rolled around on the floor, desperately trying to pin each other down and, finally, after quite the struggle, Erik managed to pin Charles to the ground.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Erik growled into the boy’s face.

Charles winced slightly “my mother said that I am to try to get to know you better. My mother said that one day we are to be married.”

The older boy furrowed his brows slightly, loosening his grip on Charles. He opened his mouth to speak and suddenly he felt the back of his head crash against the floor.  “Ouch!”

“Gotcha!” Charles smiled down at him “you’re not much of a fighter, are you? My mother said that you Lehnsherrs were good fighters.”

“ _My_ mother always told me that I shouldn’t hit girls.”

Charles rolled his eyes, even at ten years old; he was already beginning to have quite the attitude problems. He stood up from Erik and began to walk away, having learnt that Erik’s issues were not his and he was not doing anything wrong, passing King Jakob and Prince Erich as he did so and offered them a courteous nod.

Erich smiled fondly at the boy, his gaze moving to his nephew who was brushing himself down. “I have a feeling, my brother, that Erik and Charles are not taking to each other in the way you had planned.”

Jakob sighed watching Erik ascend the stairs he had just fallen down with a small frown. “Erik and Charles have both grown up without the omega half to their parents – Erik lacks the intuition as to how to treat an omega and Charles has a certain hostility to him after being surrounded by alphas. I am sure they will warm to each other eventually.”

“Do you really think that when they come to decide whether they would like to bond they will take each other’s hands willingly?” Erich asked, coming to halt so he could face his brother “it is one thing to tolerate each other but it is another to spend the rest of your life with a person, carry their children, and rule together. You and Edie had the privilege of being able to choose each other. Surely Erik should be allowed to choose also?” He paused “he has taken quite a shining to that Magda girl.”

Jakob scoffed slightly. “Madga is gypsy beta and if you think for one moment that I would allow my son to—“

“You know full well that Edie wasn’t of correct political standing to marry you but you did it anyway and the kingdom didn’t mind,” Erich said “I am not saying Erik will marry Magda, I am not saying he won’t marry Charles and I am not saying that you marrying Edie was wrong or right. I have never married, my brother, and so I am looking upon this from an unbiased perspective. Marriage for love will always trump marriage for power.”

“Edie is dead, Erich. Shaw’s army killed her along with half of our kingdom. He tortured my son and countless others. Our crops are failing and our people are in despair. Anything that might bring back the joy that this land once had is worth the sacrifice. Not only does this land need a wedding, this land also needs the wealth that the Xavier kingdom has. I wish I could allow for Erik to marry some gypsy beta or _anyone_ but I cannot. My kingdom comes first.”

“Over your son’s happiness, brother?” Erich questioned in which he was met with a deadly silence.  Erich shook his head with a slight laugh of disgust, his voice almost cracking with despair for his nephew, “that’s what I thought. You complain your son was tortured and lost his mother and yet you are still going to guilt trip him into a loveless marriage!”

“It’s his **duty**.”

“What about your duty to be a good father?”

♕♛♔♚

Five bad winters passed, each followed by glorious summers… for everyone but Charles. Charles had reached the tender age of fifteen and, as he sat in his bedroom with the door locked and his new ‘carer’ (although, Logan tended to do a lot more combat training and giving very graphic descriptions of what it is like to be an alpha than doing normal nanny like jobs), Logan Howlett, stood outside waiting for him. The castle had been in slight disarray with Charles had chosen the only alpha available to be his body guard-nanny-carer-like-person, as Charles had so eloquently put it. However, Charles trusted Logan entirely, having skimmed the edges of his mind while choosing him and had found that he had bonded to a wonderful omega, Jean Grey. She was currently married to Duke Scott Summers but Charles had every faith his friend would win her heart.

“Come on, Chuck, we need to leave now or we’ll be late for your lover boy,” Logan teased.

Charles considered this, trying to think of as many excuses as possible to not go “I haven’t washed properly yet and you know I get terrible sea-sickness and I am already not feeling very well since I’ve just come out of a heat, as it is. Perhaps, I should just stay here.”

“Your mother won’t be pleased when I tell her you’re pulling a sickie again.”

Charles groaned rather audibly “oh, go and tell her. I don’t bloody well care what she says anymore.”

“Language, Chuck,” Logan chuckled, turning away.

Charles pouted slightly, yelling a defiant “fuck off!” before rolling back to bury his face into his bed sheets.

♕♛♔♚

A metal arrow sored across Erik’s bedroom and with a triumphant yell, Erik watched as it hit the forehead of an amateur drawing he had made of his ‘omega-to-be’, Charles Xavier. Erik was seventeen now and, as he had told his father _hundreds_ of times, far too old to have Charles coming around for play dates or whatever the hell his time with Charles was.

“Erik!” his uncle furrowed his brows as he entered the room, going to reach for the arrow but Erik flicked his wrists and it went soaring back into his hand. It had also become apparent that Charles wasn’t the only gifted prince. “That really isn’t very nice, is it?”

“It’s not nice I have to spend my whole summer with some brat, Uncle.” Erik crossed his arms over himself. “Azazel and I had so much planned and now I have to pretend to be nice—“

“Well, we both know that you can’t even pretend, can you?” Erich teased, setting himself on the edge of his bed “listen, you never know. Charles might have suddenly grown up this year and you might have something in common. You had a fun time playing chess and cards last summer, didn’t you?”

“That was the only thing we had fun doing,” Erik said “and I am certain he cheats at cards! He always wins. It’s that telepathy of his. It makes me feel nervous that he always knows what I am thinking.”

Erich chuckled slightly “imagine how Charles feels being able to always hear your thoughts, thinking about how much you dislike him.” He paused, allowing his nephew to consider this.  “Why can’t Charles join Azazel and you?”

“Because…” Erik trailed off, obviously trying to think of some excuse “alpha stuff.”

“Alpha stuff, hm?” his uncle questioned raising an eyebrow. He stood up with a small sigh “please just try, Erik, you might find you like him if you just try.”

♕♛♔♚

Erik and Azazel spent roughly a month of their summer trying to lose Charles – sliding down banisters, climbing trees and running into the woods outside of the castle grounds but _somehow_ Charles always managed to catch up and find them. When July finally arrived, Erik decided that there was no point in trying to out run him and opted to go back to playing cards with the young omega.

“This is ridiculous, Azazel,” Erik sighed when Charles had decided to leave and ‘explore the library’ after winning three games of cards and losing a game of dominoes. Erik had decided that Charles was a sore loser.

“I thought you wanted him gone anyway,” Azazel asked, kicking his feet up onto the table, sending a few chess pieces flying. “I don’t know why you’re complaining.”

Erik scoffed “yes, but we both know he hasn’t gone to read – he’s gone to—“ he trailed off, shaking his head and pushing himself to a stand “come on, I’ll show you.”

Azazel groaned slightly, muttering to himself at how stupid the whole situation was. Azazel had known Erik since they were incredibly young at the wedding of Warren Worthington III. Ever since then, they had been best friends and Azazel knew Erik well and Erik never showed interest in something if he didn’t care. Therefore, Azazel could only conclude that Erik was beginning to at least _care_ about Charles.

“Okay, watch—“Erik said quietly, poking his head from around a corner and into the library where they found Charles having a rather… pleasant conversation with of the castle’s guards  - a beta, Moira.

“Charles is talking to Moira,” Azazel said “wow! Shocking – can we go now? Maybe if we go to the woods he won’t be able to find us this time or something?” However, he paused when he realised exactly what was going on. Charles wasn’t just talking to Moira. He was _flirting_ with Moira. “Oh.”

“—I actually spend a lot of time in here. Once I have my nose in a book, that’s it. You’ve lost me,” Moira smiled sweetly, far too kind to be a guard, Erik thought.

Charles returned the grin, a charming grin that Erik had never seen Charles wear for him. “Well, I suppose I might have to tear you from this library in fear I might lose you. You’re far too interesting for that.”

Moira giggled slightly and Azazel and Erik stood there, mouths agape. It was practically unheard of for omegas to be—well—like that. “That’s supposed to be my omega,” Erik growled, turning on his heel and headed back to the games room. “I should have her killed.”

“I thought you didn’t like him,” Azazel offered, disappearing in a puff of red smoke and reappearing back in the chair he had sat in earlier. “Why are you so bothered?”

“That—that’s not the point,” Erik shook his head, collapsing into the chair opposite.

Azazel laughed slightly “you like him.”

“—I’d like him better if he’d lose at cards.”


	3. What Else is There?

  _What if Charles does not agree to the merger?_

_Urge him._

♕♛♔♚

Charles would be lying if he said that he didn’t thoroughly despise every waking moment he spent on his family’s ship to the Lehnsherr’s kingdom and that his mother’s reminders of the importance of the upcoming meeting with Erik was imperative to the union between the lands were soothing. In fact, he came to loathe the whole ordeal so much that when he finally arrived at the Lehnsherr’s castle, he was on the verge of taking his mother’s horse and riding off into the woodland’s on the outskirts of the grounds to go live in the forest as some form of hermit.

However, he wasn’t given the opportunity for Logan was ushering him into the bedroom in which Charles had spent almost every summer of his childhood. The walls were coloured a pale shade of pink as blue and purple painted flowers crawled up the walls. Charles remembered the days in which he barely reached the first flower from the floor, now, he need to simply place his hand out in front of him to touch the wonderful artistry.

“You’ve got to make yourself look pretty, Chuck – we don’t want Erik turning you down because you haven’t brushed your hair,” Logan said, gesturing to a velvet chair that was positioned in front of a grand, golden dressing table.

The Omega reached for a hairbrush, embellished with ivory – just another touch from the Lehnsherr’s to show off their wealth. To show that Erik would be a good match. “For as long as I remember, I’ve been told that I’d one day marry Erik,” Charles began, bringing the brush to his head to style his chestnut hair. “I’ve practically lived in this palace for almost four months for the last eight years! Do they honestly think that I will say yes today after the way Erik has treated me all this time?”

Charles’ gaze moved to Logan’s reflection in the mirror. The man smiled slightly shaking his head “I thought you said he was beginning to warm to you a little last summer?”

Logan was right. He and Erik had found a mutual liking of chess and, when Erik wasn’t busy training with Azazel, they spent their evenings in the library playing together. Yes, they were warming to each other but one year of tolerance was not about to make up for seven years of cruelty in Charles’ eyes. He was eighteen years old now. He had a mind of his own and he was not about to follow his mother’s orders blindly anymore, regardless of how many bruises ran over his body from where she had tugged him and shoved him around.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if, since then and now, he’s gone back to thinking I’m ‘ruining his life’ or something ridiculous like that,” Charles sighed before pushing himself to a stand. He brushed down his virgin white robes, his ruby lips and burning cheeks only making the contrast even more striking.

Logan chuckled a little, his eyes moving up and down the boy. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much white in one place in my entire life,” he teased “quite the blushing bride, aren’t you?”

The Omega looked like he was going to be physically sick at that comment “we’re not bonding, Logan, and – even if I wanted to – Erik is the one with the final say and I very much doubt he’ll want me anyway.”

♕♛♔♚

At the sound of quiet rapping on his bedroom door, Erik jammed the lock. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it. Nobody was coming in and he was not going out. Not until it was time to see Charles again that was but, until then, he wanted some time alone to himself to clear his head.  “Erik?” he heard the soft voice of his uncle on the other side of the door “can I talk to you?” There were a few moments of silence when all Erik could hear was heavy breathing until the sound turned into footsteps leaving away.

Up until the previous summer, Erik had been adamant that he would not marry Charles under any circumstances. He was a spoiled Omega with invasive abilities and they seemed to be utterly incompatible. He was almost certain that they didn’t even share any interests. That was until he had decided to go into the castle library one day after shooting practice with Azazel.

_He was tired and wanted to relax by the warm fire. The library’s fireplace was his favourite in the entire castle: it was the warmest and the grandest with elegant golden swans that framed the flames and a beautiful clock that was decorated with nymphs and fairies settled on the mantelpiece. However, most importantly, it was the quietest and it was one of the few areas of the castle that nobody used apart from him._

_Needless to say Erik was more than a little miffed when he saw Charles was curled up in one of the two red velvet armchair’s in front of the fire that were separated by an elegant chessboard made of bronze and silver, the pieces shaped into that of bears all in different poses to signify their role. Yet, Erik’s annoyance soon mutated into curiosity when he spied Charles moving one of the pieces forward, turn the board around, move another piece from the other side and then turn the board back around. The Omega was playing chess with himself. Something Erik was almost certain only he did._

_“You play chess?” Erik had asked, moving closer to Charles with a tilted head._

_Charles, who seemed completely unsurprised by Erik’s entry, looked back up to him and nodded. “Yes,” he smiled softly. There was a small moment in which Erik could see Charles considering something, looking between the board and Erik. “Would you like a game? It would be nice to play someone who isn’t me,” he chuckled and—Erik was surprised to find he was laughing too._

From then on, the rest of the summer was filled with conversations over chess – discussing politics and family and—marriage. The shallow, self-involved boy that Erik thought he knew was slowly being replaced by this charming, smart and witty young man who challenged Erik’s views and ideas in a way that nobody ever had before and, by the time Charles was allowed to go home, Erik had found that the idea of bonding with the Omega wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

However, he feared his immature behaviour in the past may well have tainted Charles’ image of Erik within his mind that may not be able to be redeemed in the few short hours before Erik would be expected to ask for Charles’ hand.

“Erik! Open the door!” and the sound of a louder knocking pulled Erik straight out of his thoughts. He glanced across the room to the clock. It was seven already.

Erik jumped from his bed, pulling on his royal blue and gold robes. He ran his hands through his hair, quickly styling it and, with a flick of his wrists, the door unjammed and swung open. “Yes?” the prince asked as he was met by his father. He opened his mouth to speak but the king had grabbed his wrist and his uncle had grabbed the other and they were dragging him down the stone stairs. “I’m nearly twenty-one years old, I can walk down the stairs without someone holding my hand, father!” However, Erik’s protests were futile for he was dragged, quite indignantly down the stairs, through winding corridors and into a large reception room before; finally he was pushed into the ballroom.

It took Erik quite a few moments to realise where in the castle he was, for the last time he had set foot in the ballroom had been quite some years ago. The kingdom didn’t have much to celebrate nowadays and so the room which was once filled with dancing and laughter remained untouched. Erik’s gaze was moved to the door as it slammed shut behind him before his eyes moved around the rest of the room that was coated in lilac marble and red velvet carpets. Diamond chandeliers hung down from the ceiling and grand staircases led up to large doors that were only ever used to welcome outside guests to events.

Then, once he had taken in the whole grandeur of the room, his attention was tugged again by a sensation of nerves playing with his mind and,  shortly after, another set of tall golden doors swung open and in stepped— well, it took Erik quite a few moments to realise who it was.

The door closed behind the man as he glanced around the room nervously, sapphire eyes sparkling with anticipation as he bit down on swollen, nerve chewed lips that were an obscene shade of red. White robes hung over his body, tugging at his hips – leaving just enough to imagination – while chestnut hair shone under the light of the chandelier, creating a strange kind of halo around his head.

“Uhm… hello,” but his voice was what gave Erik the final clue as to who this Omega with a scent like honey and cinnamon all wrapped up in this addictive aroma of old books and crackling fire was. It was Charles. And he was stunning.

Erik took a few steps closer into the room, watching as Charles followed also – unable to take his eyes off him – and, for the first time since they met, Erik greeted Charles like a prince, bowing slightly. The moments they had together would be short before their families would come flooding in to usher them together, to convince them to bond and Erik wanted to show Charles that it wasn’t for show. It was for him.

“So happy to be here,” Charles said, offering Erik a bow in response, a smile tugging at the edge of his lips and, Erik couldn’t help but notice that the nervous pull on his mind was slowly turning to calm and excitement.  “Thank you for having me.”

“Thank you for coming,” the Alpha said, offering Charles his hand with he was pleased to see Charles accepted with grace and warmth.

Erik opened his mouth to speak again, however, as he anticipated, curtains drew back to reveal a band that sent notes of romance into the air as people from both the Lehnsherr Kingdom and the Xavier Kingdom flooded into the room and, from the corner of Erik’s eye, he could see his father begin to move over to them both. However, Eric took his brother’s hand, whispering quietly and the king ceased to move and simply observed.

All eyes were on the couple. Waiting. Watching.

♕♛♔♚

“Would you dance with me?”

Charles was utterly perplexed by Erik’s sudden—well, niceness. Well, not just that. His intrigue. Charles could feel the man’s eyes sliding all over his body and face, lingering in certain areas. Usually, this sort of attention would leave Charles feeling rather uncomfortable and he’d start yelling at the Alpha in question for objectifying him. However, there was something about the way Erik looked at him that didn’t scream want but, rather, confusion. It was as if he was looking for the _real_ him.

Many people had told him he had changed in the past year, noting the way his hips had widened in preparation for bearing children, his lips had reddened and his eyes had deepened. His skin had cleared of all imperfections and his hair had thickened. In the past year, Charles had gone from being nothing more than an average looking prince to one of the most desired Omegas in the kingdom and beyond. It had become such an issue that Sharon had banned Charles from attending parties and banquets in fear he may be seduced and ruin himself before he could cement his bond with Erik.

So, he let Erik look.

Charles looked around at the onlookers that had entered the room before he nodded, moving his body closer to Erik’s. He was incredibly aware of the way his hand rested on his hip, tugging him towards him. The Omega’s smile widened as they moved around the ballroom, their feet moving in time to the music, gliding with ease. “I never knew you were so light on your feet,” Charles smiled, his eyes on Erik’s as he allowed his training to carry him around the room.

“I never knew you had such grace,” Erik responded, a small toothy smile filling his face – a smile Charles had seen but a handful of time but enjoyed all the same, regardless of the terror his servants would be struck by in its presence. Charles felt Erik lead them to a stop as the music faded and a hand found its way to his cheek, Erik’s thumb caressing it. “How could I have been so blind all this time?”

Charles felt his cheeks burn a shade of crimson, bowing his head with modesty “perhaps you were only seeing what you wanted to see.” Charles knew the same could be said for him. All the years Erik had been hostile to him, Charles saw nothing but a boy who was not of his liking at all. However, now, with this new affection, he couldn’t help but finally appreciate the fact that Erik was incredibly handsome and completely and utterly to his liking.

Charles thought Erik was about to open his lips to speak but he found that his head tilted to one side and moved in a few inches, offering himself – slow and steady. There was a room of people watching and, it would be understandable that Erik wouldn’t wish to be publicly rejected. Charles, however, submerged in Erik’s scent and this intoxicating feeling of being so close to him, found himself leaning his head in to meet Erik’s and allowed their lips to press together, his eyes fluttering shut.

Almost forgetting the context of the kiss, Charles hummed as he pulled away, his focus on nothing but Erik and—well, how, when he would be asked the answer would be yes. Providing, of course, the next hour or so went to plan. Yet, Charles found himself crashing back down to earth when he heard Erik’s voice fill the room with “arrange the bonding!”

♕♛♔♚

Cheers erupted, the whole room buzzing with excitement and Erik was almost certain that he could see a few tears in the corners of a few people’s eyes and, then, he heard one word slip from Charles’ lips and his head spun back around to face the man.

“Wait.”

It wasn’t very loud but Erik was almost certain he heard the word not only in his ears but in his thoughts too and, he assumed, the rest of the room had a similar experience for everyone stopped. Stunned. Concerned. Every face filled with confusion.

“What?” Erik asked, taking Charles’ hands again and, yet, those delicate, soft hands were soon snatched away from him; he could feel his own face twisting with hurt. “You’re all I ever wanted. You’re beautiful, Charles.”

Erik’s smile soon returned as he noticed Charles’ cheeks begin to blush again, his modesty getting the better of him, Erik noted. “Thank you,” Charles said, his tongue running over his lips anxiously. There was a pause, the Alpha unable to read Charles as he stood in silence, as if he was unsure if he would be impolite to speak again. However, if this was the same Charles he knew, he’d say it eventually. And he did. “But, what else?”

Furrowed brows filled Erik’s face as his voice turned defensive “what else? What do you mean?”

The defense in Erik’s tone only seemed to spur on the accusation on Charles’ face, offended. Erik would be out right lying if he said he understood what he had done wrong. From what he understood, being called beautiful was usually a compliment. “Is beauty all that matters to you?”

Erik must have looked stunned and confused as he felt for, from across the room, he heard his father whisper the words “yes, Erik – what else?”

 The silence that surrounded Erik’s fumbling was almost unbearable. He’d never felt quite so stupid and, if it wasn’t for the fact he was completely besotted by Charles, he would have cursed him for making him seem such a fool. “I… uh… I….” he continued to stumble, not sure what else to say and, before, he had time to process what his brain had decided to come up with, he had spat out four words.

“What else is there?”

Erik didn’t need to look at the way his father shook his head, he didn’t need to look at the way his uncle pinched the bridge of his nose, or the way Charles’ friend, Logan, scoffed slightly. He didn’t need to see that at all to know he had said the wrong thing.

_What else is there?_

He knew on his own however, the way Charles bowed his head in disappointment and closed his eyes certainly reaffirmed it.

_What else is there?_

And just like that, Erik Lehnsherr had lost Charles Xavier and the Lehnsherr Kingdom toppled into despair.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, basically this chapter was a little bit of a rollercoaster but don't worry things get better... after they get a lot, lot worse...


	4. Not As It Seems

_“Are you sure you’re ready, Sugar?”_

_“I’m certain. Today is the today. Everything Sharon owns, everything she loves will be mine.”_

♕♛♔♚

Unable to face the shame that came with her son’s public rejection to Prince Erik, Queen Sharon had taken the carriage and fled the castle without so much as a word, leaving Logan and Charles to find their own way to the boat that would be leaving back to the Xavier’s kingdom. Charles stood at the gates, his face bowed as he waited on Logan to retrieve a horse from the stables that King Jakob had so kindly gifted to them. The prince had initially wanted to go with his friend but, instead, he had been told to wait at the large iron gates of the castle, trying to avoid eye contact with the king and, more importantly, Erik.

Eventually, Logan returned riding a beautiful black horse. It was soaring and magnificent and the prince would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel guilty for taking so much from the Lehnsherr’s in one day. He took Logan’s hand and pulled himself up onto the horse in front of the Alpha, looking ahead, waiting for them to eventually just _leave_.

“Say goodbye, Chuck,” Logan murmured in the prince’s ear which earned a small roll of Charles’ eyes.

Charles glanced over his shoulder, spying Erik as he stood, speechless, “goodbye, Prince Erik.”

“Goodbye, Prince,” was the reply he earned before he watched the Alpha prince turn on his heel and begin to head back to the castle and Charles had no choice but to look ahead once more in fear that the guilt that was already bubbling in his stomach would envelop him completely.

Relief swept through Charles as the horse began to move forward, Logan beginning to guide it towards the port but not before a voice was heard behind him, that of King Jakob, turning away in dismay.

“All these years-- wasted.”

♕♛♔♚

By the time the sun had set behind the trees that shaped the woodland that coated the edge of the castle grounds, most of the castle had returned to normal order. While there were still whispers in the corridors and looks of mocking placed in the Alpha prince’s direction, Erik had noted that, mostly, the staff were not fazed by what had happened earlier that day.

Azazel had helpfully noted that the staff probably had no hope for the union between the two princes anyway. Erik had told him to stop talking and taken out a pack of cards in a bid to distract himself, despite the fact that every time he won a game, he mentally noted that if he were playing Charles, this would have been far more of a challenge.

“What else is there?” Azazel’s laughter interrupted his thought as he rested down his cards for a moment to pour himself a drink from the whiskey decanter that was at the side of the room.

“Just—I know, I know, you don’t have to—“ Erik tried to protest before his quiet words were drowned out by Azazel’s continued cackling.

“He asks you if beauty is all that matters to you and, you say, what else is there?” It must have been hours since the incident and, yet, his ‘friend’ was still awfully hung up on the whole idea.

Part of him wanted to join in with the laughter, to laugh and laugh until his belly ached and his lungs screamed at him for air. He wanted to laugh until he forgot how he had completely destroyed his kingdom’s chances of salvation and his own chances at having Charles at his side. The other part of him wanted to cry. To bawl and drown his heartache and embarrassment in whiskey and his own tears.

“You know,” his friend continued and Erik’s patience was beginning to wear thing. A dagger of a look was shot in Azazel’s direction but he didn’t cease with his retort, “you should write a book – how to offend an Omega in ten syllables or less.”

“That’s enough, Azazel!” Erik finally snapped, pushing his cards away from him as he jumped to a stand, going to head from the room. “If I want to be mocked, I’ll go to my father.”

A sad silence filled the air aside from the sound of Azazel slowly resting down the crystal glass from where he was sipping the whiskey. “Wait, I’m sorry,” finally interrupted the wordless void and Erik turned back.

“One more game,” he reasoned, sitting himself back down, “one more game and not a word of Charles.”

♕♛♔♚

Charles and Logan arrived back at the docks with great ease but, when it was announced that the Queen was yet to return, the duo quickly turned their horse around and backtracked through the kingdom. Queen Sharon had left almost an hour in front of the young prince and his guard and, while it was neither of their jobs to be concerned, they decided to scout the kingdom once before returning for reinforcements if she wasn’t found as of yet. 

Through taking a shortcut through the deep woods that lead up to the Lehnsherr’s castle, they were relived to spy the coach that Charles’ mother was undoubtedly riding in. Logan pulled them down and informed the coachman that they were heading in the wrong direction and to follow the two on horseback back to the docks. Charles didn’t say a single word to his mother.

The heaven’s opened just as the conversation between Logan and the coachman came to an end, water wetting Charles’ face, a cold shiver spreading through him. His friend was kind enough to drape his coat over his shoulders but it didn’t change the fact that he would have much preferred to be inside the coach, if only his mother didn’t look on him with such disappointment.

“I just don’t get it, Chuck,” Logan finally said, Charles could sense he was edging closer to the topic they had both been avoiding, the topic of what had happened back at the castle when the Omega had so brutally rejected the prince. “What else did you want the boy to say?”

“I—“ Charles hesitated, his deep eyes focused on his hands as they petted the horse below them. “If he loved me so deeply like he claims that he does, if he wants to bond with me and spend the rest of his life with me, I need to know that he loves me—for just being me. Not because of how I look. If I wanted an Alpha who loved me for my exterior, I would have stayed in my own kingdom.”

Logan only shook his head, “Chuck—“ he began before his voice was cut off as his mind tried to make sense of what was ahead of them.

Hidden in the blackness of the road ahead and the rain that was still hammering down and muddying the path beneath them, there was the outline of a man. Logan called for the elegant horse to stop before swinging off of it. “Stay here,” Logan ordered just as Queen Sharon emerged from the carriage that stopped at the sight of Logan’s worry.

“What on earth is going on?” she demanded.

“Your Majesty, there’s—“ but, of course, before he could finish his sentence, a bright light filled the forest, light bouncing from leaf to leaf and, then, the roar of a great animal.

All Charles could do was scream.                    

♕♛♔♚

The one game that Erik had agreed to soon turned into several that were married with a few glasses of whiskey too many. He wasn’t drunk but he also did not want to be bumping into his father or his uncle in fear of being reprimanded. He’d had enough harsh words for one day.

The duo wandered through the lobby, Erik having insisted on going to the kitchen to see if there was any cake left over from the celebrations before bed, alcohol induced grins on both their faces.

“Please! Let me in!”

Erik’s wandering eyes soon sobered themselves at the cries from the other side of large, heavy wooden doors. The voice was a familiar one and, once he realised how familiar it was, something sunk deep inside him. “It’s Logan Howlett,” Erik said and, with a flick of his wrist, the iron of the doorknob forced the doors open where a bloody and desperate man fell to the floor. While there were no scars on Logan’s body, the blood that drenched his clothes told Erik enough about the fight he must have put up before he ran away.

“We were attacked in the deep woodlands. The Queen lost her way. Charles—“ Logan began, sorrow in his eyes as he mentioned the name of the prince.

“Charles--  what?” Erik said, taking Logan by the fabric of his now rouge shirt, “where is he?” And when Logan failed to answer, Erik took matters into his own hands, thundering out into the rain, eyes searching around desperately.

His eyes finally settled on the ebony horse that had been loaned to Charles and Logan to take them back to harbour. It was a fast horse and if anything was going to get him into the deep forest, it would be it. He and the horse soon began to speed across the grounds and into the forest that surrounded the castle that would eventually lead to the deep woodland that not many people strayed to unless they had a wish for death.

“Charles!” Erik screamed above the rainfall and the sound of his horse’s hooves kicking up dirt from beneath them. “Charles! Charles, please!”

Briars and twigs tore on his shirt and wet the fabric as it clung to his skin. “Charles!” Erik called out once more, his voice hoarse as his cries rung straight through him, fighting the way his lungs screamed out against the icy air.

Then, he hears it, the cold whimpers of an injured woman as she laid crushed by her own carriage. Queen Sharon was bloody and freezing and, quite obviously in pain. “Erik,” her voice called out, muffled by the sound of the rain and Erik throwing himself from his horse.

“Queen Sharon!” The prince went to her side as, with a flick of his fingers, the metal of the carriage sent the wood that laid over the queen to one side. However, he could obviously see that the way she was bleeding so much that it was difficult to find the source was not a good sign. “Who did this? Where is Charles?”

“It’s not what it seems,” Sharon mumbled, her voice shaking as her eyed wandered aimlessly, unable to focus. Her body was numbing itself to the pain and the cold, slowly slowly shutting down. Each breath drawing her closer to her death. Erik could see that, he’d seen it before only as a young boy when he had watched his people being slaughtered. “Please, it’s not what it seems.”

“Where is Charles?!” Erik insisted, desperate now.

“Charles is gone.”

And those where Queen Sharon’s last words.

♕♛♔♚

It was a peculiar feeling resting above the water but still swinging through it and Charles couldn’t help but wonder whether or not ducks and swans and other birds of the same calibre appreciated their own grace. He could see his reflection in the water below him and he decided that having a beak would never be something he would be used to.

Being a swan would never be something that he would be used to. At least, for now, he was alive. Charles bowed his head, looking away from the duo that stood at the edge of the lake in the centre of what could only be described as a hell in paradise. The lake was beautiful, the moon glistened high above Charles in the sky and the trees that surrounded the lake seemed to capture the starlight.

If he wasn’t the slave of the black magic that kept him in this form, he would have thought that it would be a wonderful place to get a little quiet reading done.

“Now, don’t let my little spell make you sad, Charles. It doesn’t even last the whole day,” the sorcerer that Charles had identified as Sebastian Shaw said, his cold eyes also reflected in the water so Charles could see the way he looked upon him and his beautiful pure feathers that replaced the white gown he had been wearing. The swan’s head finally glanced back at his captor, still bright eyes full of hate. “As soon as the moon comes up…”

Charles only tried to swim away, his webbed feet kicking the water as he tried to leave but, before he got the chance to completely hide himself away, the water of the lake surrounded him, swirling and curving and curling. The prince would have smiled in awe of the magic of the act if he had his own lips instead of a beak but, just as the thought went through his mind, he noticed that his hand – his human hand, was touching the red lips in question.

Blue eyes looked back at the sorcerer in confusion as he patted down the beautiful white robe that hung from him, clinging to his curves. He was beautiful in the moonlight and the Alpha responsible for such a curse had his thoughts written across his face. “You have to be on the lake, of course, and as soon as the moonlight touches your wings…”

The smirk on Shaw and his telepathic companion’s face only angered Charles as he waded out of the lake, stepping onto the ground, going to pad away. “Look, Charles, this doesn’t give me any pleasure. What I really want is your mother’s kingdom,” Shaw only continued, Charles blatantly aware of the way his patience seemed to be wearing.

Charles dared to lash out telepathically for a moment, disappointed when he received the mental equivalent of a slap in the face from the blonde that stood by his side. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Charles.”

“Easy, Emma,” Shaw insisted, looking to his companion.

“Take it then. You have enough power. You’ve shown me that,” the prince hissed, his eyes slightly diverted to the blonde, Emma.  

“I’ve already tried that but as soon as you steal something, you spend the rest of your life fighting to keep it,” Shaw said, reaching for the prince’s hand, snatching it despite Charles’ efforts to pull away. “But if I marry you, a stunning Omega, so fertile and so pure,” Charles squirmed at the thought, “and the only heir to the kingdom, we’ll rule your mother’s kingdom together. Legally. Alpha and Omega. You and I.”

“If you think for one moment that I would ever marry you, then you really must be as insane as the stories say,” he snapped, finally taking his hand back, holding it to himself as he upped his pace, going to race through the woodland. 

“Where are you going? As soon as the moonlight leaves the lake, you’ll turn back into a swan. No matter where you are,” Shaw said, his voice low and mocking. He’d won, he knew that. "No matter what you do." 

Charles' legs wobbled, his knees collapsing with the weight of his loss. He either married or endured this curse for the rest of his life. How could he not cry?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! This has been an awfully long time coming but we got there eventually. The next chapter should be out a lot sooner but please drop me a comment to tell me what you think! Your comments keep me going xD


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